A variety of fan systems have been made and used over the years in a variety of contexts. For instance, various ceiling fans are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,284,960, entitled “Fan Blades,” issued Oct. 23, 2007; U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,821, entitled “Low Speed Cooling Fan,” issued Jun. 12, 2001; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,108, entitled “Cooling Fan with Reinforced Blade,” issued Sep. 6, 2005. The disclosures of each of those U.S. patents are incorporated by reference herein. Another exemplary fan is disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0008596, entitled “Fan Blades,” published Jan. 10, 2008, the disclosure of which is also incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, any other suitable fans may be used in conjunction with embodiments described herein.
The outer tip of a fan blade or airfoil may be finished by the addition of an aerodynamic tip or winglet. Merely exemplary winglets are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,478, entitled “Fan Blade Modifications,” issued Aug. 7, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Additional winglets are described in U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0014090, entitled “Cuffed Fan Blade Modifications,” published Jan. 17, 2008, filed Sep. 25, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Still other exemplary winglets are described in U.S. Design Pat. No. D587,799, entitled “Winglet for a Fan Blade,” issued Mar. 3, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. In other variations, an angled extension may be added to a fan blade or airfoil, such as the angled airfoil extensions described in U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0213097, entitled “Angled Airfoil Extension for Fan Blade,” published Sep. 4, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Other suitable structures that may be associated with an outer tip of an airfoil or fan blade will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Alternatively, the outer tip of an airfoil or fan blade may be simply closed, or may lack any similar structure at all.
The interface of a fan blade and a fan hub may also be provided in a variety of ways. For instance, an interface component is described in U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/233,783, entitled “Aerodynamic Interface Component for Fan Blade,” filed Sep. 19, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, the interface of a fan blade and a fan hub may include any other component or components, or may lack any similar structure at all.
Fans may also include a variety of mounting structures. For instance, a fan mounting structure is disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/203,960, entitled “Ceiling Fan with Angled Mounting,” filed Sep. 4, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein. In addition, a fan may include sensors or other features that are used to control, at least in part, operation of a fan system. For instance, such fan systems are disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/249,086, entitled “Ceiling Fan with Concentric Stationary Tube and Power-Down Features,” filed Oct. 10, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/U.S. 09/32935, entitled “Automatic Control System for ceiling fan Based on Temperature Differentials,” filed Feb. 3, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/336,090, entitled “Automatic Control System to Minimize Oscillation in Ceiling Fans,” filed Dec. 16, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, any other suitable mounting structures and/or fan systems may be used in conjunction with embodiments described herein.
While a variety of fans and fan systems have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used a fan system as described herein.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.